Photographic apparatus



NOV. 16, 1943. I A, H BUMSTEAD 2,334,541

PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS Filed June 14, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 NOV 16, 1943A. H. BuMs-rEAD 2,334,541

PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS frerrzly NOV 16, 1943- A. H. BUMsTEADPHOTOGRAPHIC APIARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 14, 1941 @wwwPatented Nov. 1.6, 1943 PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS Albert H. Bumstead,deceased, late of Washing- Y ton, D. C., by Annie S. Bumstead,executrix,

Washington, D. C.

Application June 14, 1941, Serial No. 398,158

(ci. rss-24) 6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to cameras and more particularly tothose employed in phototypography, having for its object to provide aconstruction simple in parts, and more eilicient in operation than thoseheretofore proposed.

With these and other objects in view the invention resides in the noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts as will be disclosedmore fully hereinafter and particularly covered by the claims. Y

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification and in which like numeral designate like parts in all theviews.

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a camera made in accordance withthis invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken as on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the copy holder used in this camera;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken. as on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a wiring diagram of electric circuits that may be used in theoperation of this device;

Fig. 6 is a view of a plurality of separated copy units havingcharacters thereon and which are adapted for placement in the copyholder shown in Fig. 3 for reproduction purposes; f

Fig. '7 is a view of the copy units shown in Fig. 6 but in closelyassembled formation as they may appear in the copy holder at the time oftheir reproduction;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view, in open position, of the light-tight boxused in this camera for holding and feeding a sensitized medium uponwhich the reproductions of characters are photographically reproduced;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinally of the boxshown in Fig. 8; and

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are vertical sectional views taken transversely ofsaid box as on the lines Ill-I0, II-II and I2-I2 of Fig. 9 and lookingin the direction of the arrows.

This device comprises a bottom wall I, a rear wall 2 secured to andrising therefrom, opposite side walls 3 and 4 coextensive with the rearwall, and a top wall 5, the front of the device being completely open.Depending from the top wall is a source of light as for example anelectric light bulb 6, and in vertical coaxial align`I ment therewith isa, photographic lens assembly generally identiiled by the numeral 1which is carried by a cross support 8 secured between the side walls 3and 4, said cross support beingl suitably apertured to pass rays oflight from the bulb 6 through the lens assembly to and into thelighttight box generally identiedlby the numeral 9 and disposedimmediately below said cross support.

The side walls 3 and 4 are each provided with aout-out indicated at I0into which the lighttight box 9 may be inserted and withdrawn, therebeing provided a stop member II on the rear vertical wall of eachcut-out to limit the inward extent of said box into said cut-outswhereby to correctly position said box in its transverse direction. ToAcorrectly position said box in its longitudinal direction', there areemployed lugs or` rollers indicated at I2 secured to the top of the boxand yadapted to relatively closely fit the outer surfaces of the sidewalls 3 and 4 as will be readily seen from Fig. l. Thus, the box 9 iscorrectly positioned in this camera device so that the light rays fromthe bulb 6 may pass through avshuttered opening in the top of saidbox-to reach the sensitized medium contained therein.

To press said box vertically upwardly against the under surface of thecross support 8, there is provided a plurality of rollers I3 engageablewith the underside of said box, said rollers carried by a lever I4 Whoseinnermost end is pivotally mounted as at I5 to a fixed wall of thedevice, a strong coil spring I5a being disposed beneath said lever tourge the same upwardly and thereby maintain said box against said crosssupport. The 'outermost free end of said lever may have a suitablefinger piece I6 for depressing the same, a stop block Il carried by thebottom wall I of the device servingr to limit the downward extent ofsaid lever.

Y The light-tight box generally identified by the numeral 9 is bestillustrated in Figs. 8 to 12 and comprises a lower portion 20 and anupper portion or lid 2| secured thereto as by a hinge 22 preferably ofthe piano type, i. e. a hinge which is continuous from end to end of thebox. To prevent light entering the box at the joint between the upperand lower portions thereof, one portion may be provided with therectangular rib 23 adapted to closely t within a shoulder 24 of theother portion of the box, as willbe clearly understood from thedrawings.

The upper portionA or lid of the box is provided with an aperture 25through whichthe light rays may pass, and this aperture is opened andclosed to thelight rays by a slidable shutter 25, under the urge of thespring 2l, and operable by thel pin 28 extending vertically above thetop of the box through the pin-slot 29, it being understood that thisshutter and its operating mechanism is so mounted within the lid of thebox that no light can pass through except at the aperture 25. One methodof accomplishing this result is the pro.- Vision of the metal plates and3| recessed in the under surface of the box lid to be flush with saidsurface, the plate underlying the shutter 26 and having the aperture 32therein registrable with the aperture 25 in the lid proper, and theplate 3| underlying the operating pin 28 and the spring 21. Thus, whenthe pin 28 is moved `to the right as seen in Fig. 9, the shutter 26 willbe slid in that direction against the pressure of its spring to open theapertures 25 and 32 to the passage of the light rays, and when the pin28 is moved in the opposite direction, said apertures will be closed bysaid shutter.

A broad leaf spring 33 is secured as by 'the screws 34`along one edgethereof within a lrecessedpor'tion of the upper surface of the` lowerportion of Ysaid box, said spring being under such tension that itsopposite unconiined edge will be urged upwardly to press the sheet ofsensitized material (indicated by the dot and dash lines at 35) againstthe under surface yof the plate 30 in the region 'of the aperture 32therein, whereby the 'sensitized surface of said medium will be in theplane of `said plate when exposed to the light rays. This sensitizedAmedium may be as desired, i.le..paper or `film. v

i The rbox .3 is 'made o'f anysuitable length, 'with the light admittingaperture 25 substantially midway the vends thereof, whereby a strip ofthe sens ltifze'd medium, in a 'dark room, may be 'placed in 'the lefthand end 'of said vbox as seen in vthe drawings, with ythe sensitizedsurface uppermost after which the box `is transferred tov this cameradevice and positioned `therein 'as herein'b'efore explained, and thenplural exposures are made upon the sensitized surface until the strip'of medium `35 has been fed in successive steps, in alc*- cordance withthe exposures, to the' cpps'iteend of the box. Y u I The meansforfeedin'g said strip ,35 comprises anyexternal knob 40 l(s'eeligs. 8and 12) rotatable in 'the ldirection of the arrow and mounted vupon thelshaft '4lfdis`posed transversely of the box and extendinglthrough, andhaving a bearing in, the lfront wall of the lower portion 20 thereof.Mounted upon said shaft within the b'ox is apair of spaced feed rollerssuch as 42 and 43, e'a'ch roller having a roughenedsurface and of suchdiameter as to positively engage the under'surface of the strip ofsensitized medium. Said'sh'a'ft carries a'detent 44 externally of thebox, 'the in'- dentations of which may be in any number desired and inaccordance with thedesired spacings ofthe exposed portions of thesensitized :surface ofA said mediumpand said indentations are snappinglyengaged 'by the spring pawl 45 mounted as at 46 onthe outer surface ofthe box. K'Ilius, for each exposureof the sensitized medium, 'the knob40 is turned until the pawl 45 engages the next'succeeding indentationof the'detent 44, "as will be readily understood. y

Cooperating with the feed rollers 42 and l4'3, are the pressure rollers46 and`41, preferablyof electrical insulating material, carried at'thefree ends of the spacedleafsprings 48 and49 secured as by the screws 5Din a recessed portion of the lid'of Athe box,'the pressure rollers'46andifbeing! disposed immediately above the feed rollers when the boxis'clsed and thereby pre'ssln'g'the strip medium 35 to insure its feedupon the turning of the knob 40,

Means are provided for indicating when the strip material 35 has beenfed to such a distance that no more exposures should be made thereon, orin other words when said strip is substantially at the limit of itsmovement into the right hand portion of the box S. One such means isillustrated in the drawings and comprises a metallic contact plate 55recessed within the upper surface of the lower portion 2D of the boxsubsta tially intermediate the spaced feed rollers 42 and 43, and ametallic spring contact finger 55 recessed at 'one end in the undersurface of the lid of the box and disposed intermediate the leaf`springs 48 and 49 carrying the pressure rollers 46 'and 41a The freeend of the contact nger 56 is separated from the plate 55 so long as thestrip mediufn 35 is disposed therebetween but, when said strip has beenfed by the feed rollers into the right hand end 'of 'the box, the end ofsaid strip will ultimatelypass from between said Contact finger candplate whereuponvan electric circuit may be closedby said finger 56coming in metallic Contact With said l'plate '55. The AContact plate 55is connected 'electrically by Ithe wire 51 (see Figs'. 9 and 11) 'to themetallic hinge 22 ofthe box, andsai'd hinge is electrically connected bya metallic contact plate 5'8 mounted on the upper exterior surface ofthe 'lid l2'I `ofthe box. Adjacent said plate 58 is a `similar metalliccontact plate 59 also mounted on the upper exterior jsurface of the lid2l 'of the box, and this j'pla'te 59 is velectrically connected to thecontact 'iinge'r "55 'disposed on the inner surface of said 'lid 2l. The`"cross support 8, against the under surface of which the box 9 is,pressed, carries two spring contact fingers 6U and 6I adapted tometallically and electrically Contact respectively the said plates 58`and 59 when the box is correctly positioned in this Camera device (seeFigs. 10 'and 1'1), and said fingers '60 and 6l are electricallyconnected, in series with anjaudible arid/or arv'isiblesignal such as abell and/or the tell-talelamp S2, to a sourcecf electricucurrentasindicated in the electrical diagram illustrated inliigf v Thus, itwillbevob'served that the contact iin- 'ger 5B vand `its companion contactplate 55 are electrically eri'e'ifgizedl whenthe box 9 is in thecarneraa'devic'e, but 'tlieyfwill 'not become effective until "the*strip :medium 35, serving as an insulator, has 'been fed fromtherebetween, whereupon the electric circuit'wi'll be 'completed to"actuate 'the tell-tale" signal '(e.V g. to'cause illumination of thetell-tale lamp 62) which is mountedso =as to 'b e readily heard by orvisible to the operator ofthe device. When this telltale lamp becomesilluminated, the operator will know that no more exposures shouldbe madeon the stripnmedium "35 zwithin the "box, whereupon said'box -will beremoved from the camera device, takento a dark :rooinand theexposedstripmedium removed for photographic development, after which an unexposedstripof sensitized mediurn will be'inserted in :the left end of the box,the box vclosed andsecured by the latch B3, and the box reinserted inthe'camera device, ready for further exposures.

W/'ll/Ieans :are provided lfor causing illumination of 'thesour'ce flight (bulb 6) when the shutterZli of box 9`is opened. 'One suchmeans isillustrated 'in Figs. `1, 5 and 9' as'comprising a well known 'mercury"switch 65 "pivotallymounted as at 66 upon the cross support 6 andadapted to be oscillated by the lever 61. The mercury switch 65 is aglass tube having a quantity of mercury sealed therein, and twoelectrical conductors such as 68 and 69 the ends of which penetrate saidtube and are adapted to be placed in electrical connection by the massof mercury when the tube is tilted to causey said mercury to flow intothe end of the tube and cover said ends of the electrical conductors;since this is a well recognized mechanism, it is believed no furtherdescription nor any specific illustratio thereof is necessary. f Theglass tube of the mercury switch is supported in a cradle rigidlymounted upon a rock shaft 66, and the lever 61 is attached to saidcradle or to said shaft in such manner that the upper portion of saidlever is manipulated by the operator of the camera. Said lever has adepending portion which engages the pin 28 of the shutter 26 in the box9, wherefore when the lever 61 is oscillated the mercury switch will bemade effective to close the electric circuit from a source of energythrough the electric bulb 6, and at the same time said lever 61 willactuate the pin 28 to cause the shutter 26 to open and admit the lightfrom bulb 6 through the aperture into the box 9 and onto the sensitizedsurface of the strip medium in said box.

The spring 21 may be of sufficient strength not only to close theshutter 26 but also to oscillate the lever 61 and thus open the mercuryswitch 65. If desired, a time relay TR shown at 1I may be connected inthe circuit with the lamp 6 and the mercury switch in order toautomatically open the electric circuitl after a predetermined time ofillumination of the bulb 6; in other words different times of exposuremay be desired of the sensitized medium in the box 9, and this can beeffected manually by the operator, or accomplished mechanically, in thelatter instance employing any well known time relay as just stated. Amaster switch |35 may be provided to control all electric circuits.

Extending transversely across the upper space of the frame of thiscamera, and having bearings in the side walls 3 and 4 thereof, is ahorizontal shaft 15 which upon one outer end has a bevel gear 16enmeshed with a bevel gear 11 mounted at one end of a substantiallyvertically disposed shaft 18 mounted in suitable brackets on the outerside of the Wall 4, and having at its lowermost end an operating crank19. Closely adjacent the side walls and mounted upon the shaft 15 is apair of similar sprockets 88 and BI engaging the pair of similar chains82 and 83 respectively, one end of each chain being secured to eyes suchas 84 carried at opposite sides of a box 85 in which is mounted asuitable lens for condensing the rays of light from the bulb 6, it beingunderstood that the condensing lens (indicated in dotted lines inFig. 1) is substantially coaxial with the line joining said bulb and thelens assembly 1 at the bottom of the camera.

This lens box 85 has sliding movement as in the guides 66 carried by theside walls, and the other ends of the chains 82 and 83 are attached to aweight 81 serving as a counterbalance for the lens box, a fabric strap88 being provided and extending over a face of said weight to preventthe weight from moving forwardly in the framework of the camera to suchposition as to inter- `fere with the vertical movementk of the supportfor the copy holder presently to be described. By

the. crank 19 it will thus be understood that the condenser box may beraised and lowered in accordance with the magnification desired in thereproduction to be made upon the sensitized medium, and if necessaryidler sprockets indicated at 89 may be provided for the chains 82 and 83to cause the front and rear portions of said chains to be substantiallyparallel.

A bracket 95 is provided into which the copy holder, generallyidentified by the numeral 96, may be slid, said bracket being supportedby a vertical frame generally identified by the numeral 91 the sideedges of which run in guides Ysuch as 98 on the inner surfaces of theside walls 3 and 4, said frame carrying a rack 99 having enmeshedtherewith a pinion |00 having bearings in one of the side walls, saidpinion actuated as by the crank IIlI through suitable and brakeablemotion-transmitting devices such as the sprockets I02 and |03 and thechain |04. The frame 91 is preferably adjacent the rear wall 2 of thecamera, spaced therefrom sufficiently to permit sliding movement of thecondenser box counterweight 81, the bracket 95 extending forwardly andcentrally between the side walls so that the copy holder, whenpositioned as illustrated inthe drawings, will have its con` tainedunits of reproducible characters in the beams of light from the bulb 6passing through the condenser box and through the lens assembly 1.

The copy holder 96 is a .wooden frame the central portion of which isapertured as at H6 and covered with a transparent glass III (see Figs. 3and 4) so as to pass light therethrough. A removable positioning stripII2 is fitted within a cutaway portion in said frame, said strip havinga shoulder H3 upon which are rested the lower end edges of theindividual units having characters thereon and illustrated lin Figs. 6and '1. A frictional holding strip H4 has its ends slidably fittedwithin suitable recesses H5 in the frame sides, spring clips such as H6being provided for securing the holding strip in place.

f' The surface of the holding strip facing the glass I II is preferablycovered with plush or some other suitable yieldable substance whereby itis possible for the character units to be slipped in place between theplush of the holding strip and the surface of the glass IH until theends of said units rest upon the shoulder I I3.

If the characters on the units are letters, then the distance betweenthe bottoms of the letters and the bottom edges of the units are madeequal so that when said bottom edges are rested against the shoulder II3, all of the letters will be in alignment. .The shoulder H3 may bestraight or curved depending upon whether the letters of the word are tobe in straight or curved formation, as for instance in the formation ofgeographic names for maps, and this is the reason Why the strip H2 ismade removable, strips with shoulders of various formations beingprovided for each copy holder frame.

The copy units are of transparent material, preferably photographicfilm, the characters on said units being in contrast to the body of theunit, i. e. the body of the unit may be black or opaque with transparentcharacters, or vice versa, depending upon whether positive or negativereproductions are desired on the strip of sensitized medium 35 in thebox 9. In the case of letters constituting the characters on the units,it is preferable to have the sides of a unit adjacent the letter formedparallel with the inclination of the letter, and it has been foundhighly desirable to have the remaining portion of the body of the unitof widths which are greater than the width of the central portionadjacent the letter.

This is well brought out in Fig. 6 where three units are indicated bythe numerals |20, |2| and |22, in separated formation, the unit |20having the capital letter R in its central portion, and the units |2|and |22 having respectively thereon the lower case letters i and o inorder to form ultimately, when brought together, the Spanish word Riomeaning riven The side edges, auch as |23 and |24, of each unit adjacentthe central lettered portion, are cut to be parallel with theinclination of the letter, but the upper as well as the lower portion ofeach unit, such as |25 and |26 respectively, have widths which aregreater in all portions thereof than the width of the central letteredportion as will be observed. The exact shape of these upper and lowerportions of the units may be somewhat varied, but in practically everycase they should be of such a. shape as to divergently increase in widthin the direction toward their upper and lower extremities, as shown.

The reason for this formation of these units, particularly when theunits have an opaque background with transparent letters, is to makepossible rapid formation of words by bringing plural units together asillustrated in Fig. 7, since no particular care must be exercised inassembling the lettered units except that the cut edges adjacent theletter should at least be brought together to transmit the minimum lightthrough the joint between two adjacent units, and of course this minimumamount oi light theoretically is zero.

In other words, in the formation of the word Rio in the copy holder, thethree units shown in Fig. 6 are selected and slipped under the holdingstrip ||4 until their bottom edges rest upon the shoulder ||3 of thepositioning strip H2. Then the unit containing the letter i can beshifted to the left until its central cut edge |21 abuts and coincideswith the central cut edge |24 of the unit containing the letter R,permitting the upper and lower portions of the two units to overlap. Insimilar manner the unit containing the letter o is moved leftwards untilits central cut edge |28 abuts and coincides with the central cut edge|29 of the unit containing the letter 1.

These central cut edges are accurately produced and when so abuttedshould permit substantially no light to pass through the joint madethereby. If perchance the operator sees some crack or opening betweentwo abutted cut edges, he may cover such crack or opening with a verynarrow strip of opaque film slipped under the holding strip ||4 in thesame manner as the main units bearing the letters. On the other hand,.it is possible to slightly overlap the cut edges above referred to, asindicated in Fig. 7 to be sure that no light will pass except throughthe transparent letters.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details ofconstruction and arrangements of parts without departing from :thespirit of this invention and therefore it is desired not to be limitedto the exact foregoing construction except as may be required by theclaims.

What is claimed is:

l. For a camera provided with a source of light at one end thereof, abox attachable to and delill tachable from the other end of the camera,said box having a hinge connecting two portions thereof together, saidbox having feeding means therein for moving a strip of sensitized mediumfrom one end of the box to the opposite end thereof, Said box having anaperture through a wall thereof and a shutter movable to open and closesaid aperture to control the rays from the source of light reaching thesensitized medium through said aperture, pressure means within said boxfor pressing the stripV of sensitized medium against the inner boxsurface adjacent the edges of said aperture, a pair of opposedelectrical contact members mounted in said box and normally separated bythe strip of sensitized medium disposed therebetween but brought intoelectric current conducting contact with each other when the said striphas been fed from therebetween, and electrical conductors leading fromsaid pair of contact members and comprising said hinge, said conductorsconnected in a signal circuit for indicating when the end of the stripof sensitized medium has substantially reached said aperture.

2. For a camera, a box attachable to and detachable from the camera,said box comprising two halves secured together by a hinge, one halfhaving an annular member relatively closely tting a recessed portion ofthe other half thereby to render said box light-tight when closed, saidbox having a wall provided with a light-transmitting aperturetherethrough, a shutter mounted within the apertured wall forcontrolling the light admitted through said aperture, means within saidbox for feeding a strip of sensitized medium past said aperture, and apair of opposed electrical contact members mounted in said box andnormally separated by the strip of sensitized medium disposedtherebetween but brought into electric current conducting contact witheach other when the said strip has been fed from therebetween, andelectrical conductors leading from said pair of contact members tooutside said box for connection in a signal circuit for indicating whenthe end of the fed strip of sensitized medium has substantially reached.said aperture, one of said conductors comprising said hinge.

3. For a camera, .a box attachable to and detachable from the camera,said box comprising two halves secured together .by a hinge, one hallhaving an annular member relatively closely tting a, recessed portion ofthe other half thereby to render said box light-tight when closed, saidbox having a wall provided with a light-transmitting aperturetherethrough, a, shutter mounted Within the apertured wall forcontrolling the light admitted through said aperture, means within saidbox for feeding a strip of sensitized medium past .said aperture, saidfeeding means comprising a pair of feed rollers, a roller mounted ineach half of the box, one roller under spring tension and disposed topress the strip of sensitized medium against the other roller when thebox is closed, and a pair of opposed electrical contact members mountedin said box and normally separated by the strip of sensitized mediumdisposed therebetween but brought into electric current conductingContact with each other when the said strip has been fed fromtherebetween, and electrical conductors leading from said pair ofcontact members to outside said box for connection in a signal circuitfor indicating when the end of the said strip of sensitized medium hassubstantially reached said aperture, one of said conductors comprisingsaid hinge.

4. For a camera, a box attachable to and detachable from the camera,said box comprising two halves secured together by a hinge, one halfhaving an annular member relatively closely iitting a recessed portionof the other half thereby to render said box light-tight when closed,said box having a wall provided with a light-transmitting aperturetherethrough, a shutter mounted within the apertured wall forcontrollingr the light admitted through said aperture, means Within saidbox for feeding a strip of sensitized medium past said aperture, and apair of opposed electrical contact members mounted in said box, acontact member in each half of the box, one contact member under springtension,both contact members normally separated by the strip ofsensitized medium disposed therebetween but brought into electriccurrent conducting contact with each other when the said strip has beenfed from therebetween, and electrical conductors leading from said pairof contact members to outside said box for connection in a signalcircuit for indicating when the end of the fed strip of sensitizedmedium has substantially reached said aperture, one of said conductorscomprising said hinge.

5. For a camera, a box attachable to and detachable from the camera,said box comprising two halves secured together by a hinge, one halfhaving an annular member relatively closely fitting a recessed portionof the other half thereby to render said box light-tight when closed,said box having a wall provided with a light-transmitting aperturetherethrough, a shutter mounted Within the apertured wall forcontrolling the light admitted through said aperture, means Within saidbox for feeding a strip of sensitized mediumfpast said aperture, saidfeeding means comprising a pair of feed rollers, a roller mounted ineach half of the box, one roller under spring tension and disposed topress the strip of sensitized medium against the other roller when thebox is closed, and a pair of opposed electrical contact members mountedin said box, a contact member in each half of the box, one contactmember under spring tension, both contact members normally separated bythe strip of sensitized medium disposed therebetween but brought intoelectric current conducting contact with each other when the said striphas been fed from therebetween, and electrical conductors leading fromsaid pair of contact members to outside said box for connection in asignal circuit for indicating when the end of the fed strip ofsensitized medium has substantially reached said aperture, one of saidconductors comprising said hinge.

6. For a camera, a box attachable to and detachable from the camera,said box having two opposed wall surfaces separated from each other a.distance only suiilcient to permit travel therebetween of alight-sensitive medium, said box having a. light-transmitting apertureandv a shutter for opening and closing said aperture, said apertureterminating in one of said Wall surfaces and said shutter disposedsubstantially in the plane of that surface, and feeding means for movingthe light-sensitive medium between said wall surfaces past saidaperture.

1 ANNIE S. BUMS'I'EAD, Ezecutriz of the Estate of Albert H.' Bumstead,

Deceased.

